Sofa-bed mechanism with antitopple means



April 1965 1.. POKORNY, JR 3,178,731

SOFA-BED MECHANISM WITH ANTI-TOPPLE MEANS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 28. 1962 INVENTOR. Lou/ IQWQPNX (1 BYIWIJW ,ATTQ WEY P 1965 L. POKORNY, JR 3,178,731

SOFA-BED MECHANISM WITH ANTI-TOPPLE MEANS Filed Dec. 28, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Lou/s 1 0 0 /0 U VIA-( April 20, 1965 L. POKORNY, JR 3,178,731

SOFA-BED MECHANISM WITH ANTI-TOPPLE MEANS Filed Dec. 28, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN VEN TOR. lows Poxopv Y, c/g

,4 rropvey April 20, 1965 1.. POKORNY, JR 3,178,731

SOFA-BED MECHANISM WITH ANTI-TOPPLE MEANS Filed Dec. 28, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 1 N VEN TOR. Lou/s Hump w, de

United States Patent 3,178,731 SOFA-BED MECHANISM WITH ANTI- TOPPLE MEANS Louis Pokorny, Jr., Ronkonkoma, N.Y., assignor of onethird to Louis Polkorny, Ronkonkoma, and one-third to John M. Pokorny, Bellport, N.Y.

Filed Dec. 28, 1962, Ser. No. 248,016 2 Claims. (Cl. 5-13) This invention relates to sofa-beds, and has particular reference to an improvement that contributes to a stabilization of the structure during the unfolding and refolding of the mechanism.

The type of sofa-bed mechanism with which the invention is primarily concerned comprises sections that are pivoted to one another in succession and are foldable between a collapsed sofa position and an extended bed position, the sections including two which lie in superposed horizontal planes when the structure is collapsed and in horizontal alignment when the mechanism is extended. These sections may be conveniently designated upper and lower horizontal sections. The lower section is pivotally joined to a rear section, which is in turn connected to a fixed sofa body, and the upper and lower horizontal sections are connected at the front by means of a section that lies vertical in the sofa-defining position and may therefore be designated a front vertical section.

My earlier patents, Nos. 2,832,965 and 3,005,211 show examples of this kind of mechanism. In the folded position, the entire mechanism is accommodated within a sofa body which is usually upholstered, and includes removable seat cushions. In the extended position, the mechanism stretches forwardly from the sofa body, together with a mattress coextensive and foldable with the mechanism, to define a bed. The linkage systems described in those patents are of the general type to which the present invention relates; they interconnect the sections in such a way that the mechanism is constrained to fold and unfold .in accordance with a predetermined pattern of movement.

It is often desirable to mount a mechanism of this kind in a sofa body in such a way that the mechanism will unfold forwardly to an increased extent. One reason may be to minimize conflict between the mechanism and the upholstery on the back of the sofa body; another may be to define a longer bed. In any case, under such circumstances, the center of gravity of the mechanism in its intermediate positions shifts forwardly, and this influences the structure to topple forwardly as it is being opened or closed. During the closing procedure this tendency may be increased by the fact that during the period of greatest instability the user is likely to be exerting a downward pressure upon the partially re-folded mechanism, thus aggravating the instability. Moreover, the current trend toward use of lighter-weight materials in forming the sofa body reduces the ability of the sofa body to serve, by its weight, as a stabilizing influence. It is the object of the present invention to prevent such instability and to eliminate any toppling tendency during the folding and unfolding operations.

In achieving this objective, the invention relies in part upon a leg which is commonly employed in the intermediate region of the extended frame. As shown and described in each of my aforesaid earlier patents, this leg is adapted to extend rearwardly and to lie close to the lower horizontal section in the folded condition of the mechanism, and it rotates to a vertical operative disposition during the unfolding procedure. It is an objective of this invention to provide improvements in the operating linkages whereby the leg reaches its vertical disposition at an earlier stage during the unfolding operation, and leaves its vertical floor-contacting disposition at 3,178,731 Patented Apr. 20, 1965 a later stage during the folding operation. In this way, floor-contacting support is afforded sooner as the unfolding is carried out, thus propping the structure and preventing topple; and during the restoration of the parts from bed to sofa the supporting benefit of the leg is retained until the mechanism has been re-folded beyond the potentially unstable posture.

A more particular object of the invention is to achieve the desired results by a mechanism which is entirely practical from a manufacturing standpoint, does not materially increase the cost of manufacture, and functions reliably over long periods of use.

A preferred way of attaining these objectives and advantages is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- FIG. 1 is an end view of a sofa-bed mechanism having the improvements of the present invention, the sofa body, the cushions of the sofa, and the mattress of the bed, being shown in dot-dash lines, the mechanism being shown in its fully folded position;

FIGURES 26 are views in the same direction as FIG. 1, showing the mechanism in successive stages of opening, parts being omitted in certain cases for the sake of compactness of illustration; and

FIGURE 6A is a detail cross-section on line 6A6A of FIG. 6.

The sofa body within which the mechanism is mounted includes the usual upholstered back 10, sides 11, removable seat cushions 12, legs 13, and a front board 14 which remains fixed in position and extends along the entire length of the sofa. In addition, there is a movable front board 15 mounted on the sofa-bed mechanism and carried along with it when it is unfolded. The front boards 14 and 15 and the sides 11 may or may not be upholstered depending upon the style of the sofa.

The sofa-bed mechanism includes four sections pivoted to one another in succession, and a linkage system interconnecting them. In the fully folded condition the sections assume the relative positions shown in FIG. 1. It will be understood that these sections extend for substantially the full length of the sofa from one side 11 of the sofa body to the other, and that the pivotal anchorages of the mechanism to the sofa body are provided in duplicate, one at each side. In the drawings only one side 11 is shown.

The sections of the mechanism comprise a rear section 18 connected by a link 16 to a fixed pivot 27 on the sofa body. The link is pivoted to the rear section 18 at the upper end 17 of the latter. At its lower end the section 18 is pivoted at 22 to the lower horizontal section 19. The section 19 is pivoted at 23 to the front vertical section 20 (see FIGS. 5 and 6), and the latter is pivoted to the upper horizontal section 21 at 26. These pivotal connections and mountings permit the mechanism to be withdrawn from the sofa body into an extended condition (FIG. 6) in which the four sections lie in horizontal alignment to define a bed.

Extending across the sections in known fashion is a bed spring (not shown), attached to them in any suitable manner. It supports a mattress 29 which is coextensive with the mechanism and folds with the latter into the compacted condition shown in FIG. 1. In this position the bed spring and the mattress serve to support the seat cushions 12.

Pivoted to the rear section 18, at 28, is an actuating link 30 which will be referred to herein as a rear link to distinguish it from a front link hereinafter to be described. The pivot 28 lies just forwardly of the rear end of the link 30, and a connecting link 31 is pivoted at 32 to this rear end and extends upwardly to a pivot connection 33 with the anchoring link 16. The pivot 33 lies slightly spaced from the pivot 17.

The front end of the, rear link 30 is pivotally connected? at 34 to one arm of a lever 35 medially fulcrumed on the lower horizontal section 19. This lever is an important For simplicity of manufacture the lever may be formed of two parts rigidly riveted together, as shown. The arm to which the rear link 30 is connected extends, in effect,

from the pivot 34 to the fulcrum 36. The other arm ex-.

tends from the fulcrum 36 to the pivot A'presently to be referred to in more detail. In the construction illustrated, these lever arms are at a slight angle to each other sq that the lever is ofthe bellcrank type. r

The lever 35 is formed to define a leg 38 preferably provided with a caster 39 at its:end. "This leg is adapted to extend rearwardly I and to lie closely alongside the lower horizontal section 19 when'the mechanism is fully folded as shown in FIG. '1'; The leg 38 rotates about the pivot 36 toward a vertical disposition as the mechanism is unfolded, and in the fully extended condition of themechanism the leg 38 serves .as a medial bed support asindicated in FIG. 6.

For convenience the lever 35-.will be referred to hereinafter as a first lever. A second lever 40, also con- 'stituting an element of the improved linkage, is medially fulcrunied' on the front vertica-l section 20. The pivot connection is designated 3 (FIGS. 5 and 6'). It is preferably formed in a brackettF IG. 6A), which is rigidly secured to the section 20 and projects laterally therefrom.

The lever 40 isalso of the bellcrank variety 'in the embodiment herein chosen for illustration. Its forwardly extending arm extends from the fulcrum B to the pivot 42 at which the front link 43 is connected. This link extends to the upper horizontal section, as best indicated in FIGS. 14, being pivotally connected to it at 44; The

rear arm of lever 40 .extendsfrom the fulcrum B tothe pivot 46. I V v The desired objectives of the invention'areuattained by providing a special articulation, of collapsiblecharacter, between the first lever 35 and the second lever 4Q. The purpose of the articulation is to delay the activating effect of these levers upon eachothcr so that, during the unfolding operation, the leg 38 reaches its vertical disposition at an earlier stage thanit otherwise would, and so that, during the re-folding operation, theleg 38 will .re-

main down for a longer period than it otherwise would.

The collapsible articulation between levers 35 and 40 is preferably a connecting link 45 pivoted to the first lever 35 at point A and to, the second lever 40 at point 46. The link 45 has an extension 48 beyond the point 46 which moves toward and away froman abutment 47 formed. on the lever 40. Theextension 48 moves away from the abutment 47 whenever the first lever 35 presses forwardly against pivot A, which occurs during the unfolding of the mechanism, and whenever the second leverpushes rearwardly against pivot 46, which occurs during the refolding operation. Conversely,.the'extension 48 moves against (and is stopped by)-the abutment 47 whenever the first lever 35 presses rearwardly on pivot A (during the folding procedure), and whenever the second lever 40 pulls forwardly on pivot 46 (during the unfolding operation). 1

Before describing the operation of the mechanism, other parts of the linkage system should be described. Extending upwardly toward the rear'link 30, and pivotally cona V FIG. 4 (with the'leg 38. in supporting contact with the 1,: the spring 52 exert a rearwardly upward pull on point- 53 thus urging the elevator arm 50 upward, i.e., in a clockwise direction-as'shown in the drawings. This urgence is: counteracted by the weight of the mechanism. 1 During; the initial stages of unfolding movement the springs 52: thus thus counterbalance this weight and make it easier for the user to lift the mechanism to and beyond the posi-' tion of FIG. 2. 'Similarly, during the re-folding operationthe springs 52 facilitate the return movement of the parts from the condition of FIG. 4 to that of FIG. 3.

The front leg 58, pivoted to the upper horizontal section at 5.5, is automatically swung between the fully operative position of FIG. 6 and the fully retracted position of FIGS. 1-4 by a link 59 extending from it to the front link 43.

'The movable front board section is. automatically swung between thenorr'nal position of FIGS. 1-4 and the lowered out-of-the-way position of FIG. 6 by links 56 V and 57 deriving their activation from the lever 40 and the leg-actuating link 59.

. The operation of the mechanism is as follows: After the sofa cushions 12 have been removed,'the upper movable front board 15 is graspedto initiate an upward forward movement of the mechanism as a whole. Aiding in this movement are the springs 52. During the transition from FIG; 1 to FIG. 4, the pivot 17 at the upper end of, the rear section 18 is constrained to move in a circular path around the fixed pivot 2 7-;' and the pivot 49 at the upper end of the elevator arm 50 is constrained to move in a circular are around the fixed pivot 51. There is little change in the general relationship of parts during the movement from the cendition' of FIG. 1 to that of FIG. 2, but as the mechanism is moved through the stage shown in FIGS, 3 and 4 the angle between the sections Hand 19 becomes more and more obtuse until finally these sections are in alignment. This causes the rear link to move rearwardly with respect to the section 19, and'the effect of this is' to swing the first lever in a counter clockwise direction (asviewed in the present figures). Until the leg 38 has reached its fully operative position,

' as shown in FIG. 4, the rotative movement of thegfirst the parts move toward the relationship shown in FIG. 5

the extension 48 moves toward and ultimately encounters the abutment 47', and during the subsequent opening movements there is a downwTardpressure upon the abutment 47-, compelling the lever tomovecounter clockwise with respect to the section 20,. thuspushingthe front link 43 forwardly and ultimatelybringing the parts into the fully extended condition shown in FIG. 6. V

This same interaction takes place, in reverse, during there-folding of the mechanism. During this operation the lever -40presses rearwardly upon the pivot 46, but this is ineffective to rotate the lever 35 because the connecting link is ineffective to transmit any force to the lever 35. This means thatthe leg 38 remains in the operative propping position shown in FIGS. 4-6 until after the parts have passed through the, inherently unstable condition of FIG. 5 and have reached .the compacted con-- dition of FIG. 4. .After this stage has been reached, the:

parts can befsafely lifted into the condition of .FIG.. 3,

and ultimately restored to thefully folded condition, with-- out any danger of forward toppling. Similarly, during the opening of the mechanism, theinability. of the first lever 35 to rotate the second lever- 40 allows the parts to be brought into the condition of floor) beforethe inherent instability of FIGS is reached.

' be noted that the mechanism allows the pivots A and B to move toward andaway from each other; This relative movement is made possible by the collapsible articulation herein described and illustrated.

It will be understood that many of the details shown may be modified by those skilled in the art without necessarily departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims. Except as otherwise stated, therefore, it is intended that these details be interpreted as being illustrative only.

What is claimed is:

1. In a sofa-bed mechanism in which sections are pivoted to one another in succession and include a rear section, a lower horizontal section, a front vertical section and an upper horizontal section, said sections being toldable between a collapsed position in which the lower and upper horizontal sections lie in superposed parallel relation and an extended position in which said sections lie in horizontal alignment: a linkage system interconnecting said sections to constrain the mechanism to fold and unfold in accordance with a predetermined pattern of movement, said linkage system comprising-- a first lever fulcrumed medially to the lower horizontal section and formed to define a leg,

said leg adapted to extend rearwardly and lie adjacent to the lower horizontal section in the folded condition of the mechanism and to assume a vertical disposition in contact With the floor in the extended condition thereof,

a rear link extending between the rear section and one arm of said lever,

a second lever fulcrumed medially to the front vertical section,

a front link extending between one arm of said second lever and the upper horizontal section,

and a collapsible articulation between the other arms of said first and second levers, said articu ation comprising a connecting link pivoted at one point to the first lever and at a second point to the second lever.

2. A sofa-bed linkage system as defined in claim 1, including an abutment on said second lever, and an extension on said connecting link adapted to move toward and away from said abutment and limiting the relative movements of said levers in the direction that brings said extension against said abutment.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,656,547 10/53 Winikoflf 531 X 2,790,977 5/57 Bebry 5-13 2,803,018 8/57 Piliero 5-13 2,832,965 5/58 Pokorny 5-13 3,005,211 10/61 Pokorny 513 3,110,910 11/63 Rea 5-13 FOREIGN PATENTS 808,802 2/59 Great Britain.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN A SOFA-BED MECHANISM IN WHICH SECTIONS ARE PIVOTED TO ONE ANOTHER IN SUCCESSION AND INCLUDE A REAR SECTION, A LOWER HORIZONTAL SECTION, A FRONT VERTICAL SECTION AND AN UPPER HORIZONTAL SECTION, SAID SECTIONS BEING FOLDABLE BETWEEN A COLLAPSED POSITION IN WHICH THE LOWER AND UPPER HORIZONTAL SECTIONS LIE IN SUPERPOSED PARALLEL RELATION AND AN EXTENDED POSITION IN WHCIH SAID SECTIONS LIE IN HORIZONTAL ALIGNMENT: A LINKAGE SYSTEM INTERCONNECTING SAID SECTIONS TO CONSTRAIN THE MECHANISM TO FOLD AND UNFOLD IN ACCORDANCE WITH A PREDETERMINED PATTERN OF MOVEMENT, SAID LINKAGE SYSTEM COMPRISINGA FIRST LEVER FULCRUMED MEDIALLY TO THE LOWER HORIZONTAL SECTION AND FORMED TO DEFINE A LEG, SAID LEG ADAPTED TO EXTEND REARWARDLY AND LIE ADJACENT TO THE LOWER HORIZONTAL SECTION IN THE FOLDED CONDITION OF THE MECHANISM AND TO ASSUME A VERTICAL DISPOSITION IN CONTACT WITH THE FLOOR IN THE EXTENDED CONDITION THEREOF, A REAR LINK EXTENDING BETWEEN THE REAR SECTION AND ONE ARM OF SAID LEVER, A SECOND LEVER FULCRUMED MEDIALLY TO THE FRONT VERTICAL SECTION, A FRONT LINK EXTENDING BETWEEN ONE ARM OF SAID SECOND LEVER AND THE UPPER HORIZONTAL SECTION, AND A COLLAPSIBLE ARTICULATION BETWEEN THE OTHER ARMS OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND LEVERS, SAID ARTICULATION COMPRISING A CONNECTING LINK PIVOTED AT ONE POINT TO THE FIRST LEVER AND AT A SECOND POINT TO THE SECOND LEVER. 